Sunday, May 29, 2011

Didn't get the answer but had a nice day...

The question had twisted around my heart in such a tight knot that I was just too uncomfortable. A friend called, asking to meet up in Bandra. I called another friend asking him to meet us in Bandra, and there we were.

Friend 1 and I went to Joggers Park. I think I must have died and come back since the last time I was there. It feels so long ago. I wonder why I ever stopped going to that place in my last few years in Bandra. I would go running on Carters or Bandstand. But Joggers Park is so cute! I love it! In fact, the moment we got our tickets and stepped inside the gates, I got a sweet whiff of pink and purple flowers - those large ones with velvety petals. If memory serves me right, that scent was the same one that had got me hooked to that place nearly fifteen years ago. That place is special.

Then we went to Candies - the new one, and I must say I was impressed! I love that huge, enchanting far away tree feel to all those levels and they had some of my favorite desserts - the banana pudding, lemon yoghurt cheesecake and cute, little petit-fours made of carrot cakes and some biscotti and vanilla cream preparation. Even their chocolate lava seemed to look good - a brown crusty layer waiting to be broken into, to dip into a dense, thick chocolate filling. I had two spicy vegetarian pan rolls and a huge mug of coffee. They also gave us a few complimentary jelly squares that looked really pretty. I ate a couple. They were a bit too 'tart' (get it? get it?) for my taste.

After that, a trip to my other favorite place, Mocha Mojo. I love that joint- bright, cheery, swish and a great menu! This time I tried a mango cheesecake which, frankly, is not my favorite flavor. And it was strictly okay. I would not recommend that, though. Will have the New York cheesecake next time. Now, that is a wedge of supreme niceness.

Then, for a brief while, another friend of mine and I went to all the cinema halls like headless chicken, looking for movie tickets. But just as I had expected, we didn't get any. I was irritated, so to quiet me down, my friend bought me some real, solid comfort food - a spicy vada pav. I love vada pavs. I think it is the bestest thing in the whole world. When you bite into that crisp batter coating, then get a mouthful of the pungent, salty chilli powder and the flaming-hot potato filling - it feels like first love. Better, actually. There is no nervousness here.

After that we had an argument. So I got hungry again. We went to Sahil where I ate a little rice and dal - smoked up nice and easy with Kashmiri chillies and jeera and had the perfectly sweetened fresh lime and water. I hadn't given much thought to this before. But I can possibly count the number of times I've had good fresh lime and water anywhere. In fact, every time I used to order it in Delhi, I thought they were trying to posion me with some citrus concentrate. This drink at Sahil was so good that I was actually slurping the last drops, instead of leaving behind a half-glass (which I usually do).

Then I caught the last bus home, chatted with the woman next to me and told her about a haunted flat in Pali Hill. It's my favorite travel story. She looked rivetted enough but declined to hear any more of my spectral locutions about mansions in Panchgani.

Finally, my day ended with a nice, jaunty walk home. I love walking into my gate just before midnight. It seems like putting a fullstop at the very last spot on the very last line of a page. It seems like the perfect way to complete a segment of time that came my way.

So, I don't have the answer to what was troubling me earlier. But I think, with a little resolve and a friend who will feed you to shut you up, you do get by.